WE UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT...
Lighter, slimmer, extra fast and in…glass?
“If I had glass fiber like this when I was starting G.Loomis – I would have probably not gotten into carbon fiber” – Gary Loomis.
In the last three years we have sat down with dozens of boat captains, deck bosses, pin-heads, highliners, and rod builders on the West Coast – with one goal in mind: to engineer the next generation of blanks needed for this dynamic and demanding fishery.
Lighter, faster, better, stronger, slimmer – “no we mean faster – like hurl a TADY over a county mile faster” yelled a boat captain after receiving a third revision on a blank.
“Look – I know that we are asking a lot. We know that there must be next generation glass available, there has to be after 30 years of R&D in the space – we just need one of you manufacturers to listen – I’ve have been asking anyone that would listen” – Sergio Platero, a preeminent rod builder in Long Beach (we even named some of the blank models after his initials)
The same rod builder would call after receiving the last iteration and yell at Gary and Al Jackson not to touch anything else on the blanks.
We understood the assignment…well, Al Jackson and Gary Loomis did.
Who is Al Jackson? (almost sounds like who is John Galt)
Al Jackson is a mad scientist. He speaks in code, exhibits little tolerance for the uninitiated and carries a 50 year rolodex of composites knowledge perfectly preserved in a photographic memory. He is recognized worldwide as a leading authority on all things even remotely related to tubular composites. In fact, in the early stages of developing Stealth aircraft the Defense Department contacted Al. He still wont say why. Al Jacksons work resume includes work for Titleist, Callaway, Ping, Cobra, and Taylormade, and AJ Tech But his best work is with rod blanks and he has proven it with Lew’s, Shimano, Ryobi, Berkley, G.Loomis, Lamiglas. Al holds 11 patents for composite materials, rod blanks, golf shafts, and more. NFC has been Al’s home for the last 7 years, and as the Good Book says “As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”
Being a Gary Loomis or an Al Jackson in the composite industry opens some doors. Calling on a glass fiber manufacturer as Gary Loomis AND Al Jackson opens ALL of them – their engineers and board rooms did not stand a chance to develop an opposition – “Look, we are going to do this. We either do it with you or we need to find someone else who can help. AGY and AXIOM answered the call. With their help, we are proud to introduce the next generation of high modulus glass one piece blanks for the West Coast, and for the Surf Market on the East Coast.
As you look through the deflections of these blanks – we would like you to pay a special attention to their butt diameter, tip size, extra fast action, and overall weight – if you have built on glass blanks of this type in the past, you will surely appreciate the engineering breakthrough. As the kids now say “IYKYK” (If you know, you know).
Full Press Release Here: (Deflections, Colors, Details)
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